"Collaboration software", also referred to as "groupware", is a type of computer software designed to enable workgroups and individuals to collaborate and share knowledge regardless of geographic boundaries and time restrictions. Groupware is characterized by e-mail facilities, which permit users to communicate from a workstation with everyone in the groupware environment. The user can also communicate with individuals in other groupware domains, or have connections with service providers such as CompuServe, the Internet, and others. In addition to e-mail, groupware permits users to access, track, share and organize various other types of information through LANs, WANs, and dial-up telephone lines.
An example of groupware is Lotus Notes, a product of Lotus Development Corporation. The Notes groupware supports a wide variety of data formats and many computer, telecommunications, and messaging industry standards. Notes empowers personnel to manage and organize tasks from a central location, using a single source of information that is shared among all personnel.
Groupware is characterized by four primary components: documents, document routing, databases, and replication. Documents are electronic forms that can be completed, stored, and routed. Documents can be routed to a designated person, group, or location with the document routing facility. Databases store, manage, and display documents. Database copies (replicas) are synchronized with the replication engine.